My Other Half
by Keitorin Asthore
Summary: Ren and Jun have always been close, ever since they were small. COMPLETE
1. Four Years Old

Disclaimer: Shaman King belongs to Hiroyuki Takei and Shonen Jump, not me.

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The little girl sat alone in the corner, playing quietly by herself. "And the kaa'san says to the tou'san, 'Let's take the baby to the park, shall we?' and then they take the baby to the park and play games," she murmured to herself, playing with her dolls. "And then the baby's guardian ghost says, 'I would like to play,' and they all say, 'Hai, come and play with us' and they all played together and were happy."

"Mistress!" The wraithlike governess grabbed her small charge by the arm. "What are you doing under the table? Your parents will be furious if they saw how dirty you've gotten!"

The little girl smiled impishly. "I'm playing with the kaa'san and the tou'san and the baby and the jiang-si!" she announced, holding up her dolls in her grubby little hands for her governess to see.

The woman swatted the girl across the face. "No Japanese! Speak only Chinese! Your parents insist on it!" she said. "You do not want to make your parents angry, do you?"

The child's face blanched. "No," she said in a tiny voice. "I do not want to make them angry."

Suddenly a sound caught her ear. "Why is there a baby crying?" she inquired, cocking her head to the side.

"It's your brother," the governess said shortly. "Now come along." She tried to tug the girl along with her, but the pixie broke free and ran down the hall, following the sound.

She heaved open the heavy mahogany doors and giggled with delight when she saw the crib. "I have a brother!" she said. She stood on tiptoe and peeked at the baby. Her eyebrows lowered in a frown. "Do not cry!" she told him, unconsciously using the same tone her mother used when speaking to a wayward spirit.

The little boy continued to wail, his small face screwed up in misery. His sister reached in and picked him up. Almost immediately he stopped and stared at her out of wide amber eyes.

"I see you've met Lian." Their mother's voice was calm and unemotional, even as she spoke to her daughter.

The little girl beamed at her small brother. "Hello, Lian!" she said. "I am Jun."

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**Author's Note:  
**Backstories involving small children make me happy.


	2. Five Years Old

Disclaimer: Shaman King belongs to Hiroyuki Takei and Shonen Jump, not me.

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Jun swung her short legs back and forth. Her parents didn't like her to fidget at the table, especially when guests were there. And they seemed to discussing something very important, something about her.

". . . a jiang-shi could be potentially dangerous," one of the guests, an old man with sharp gray eyes, said.

"I have a jiang-shi!" Jun piped up. Then she clapped a tiny hand over her mouth. Her parents would be furious. She knew quite well that she wasn't to speak without being addressed first.

But her mother, although her eyes were stormy, nodded at her to continue. "Tell him about your jiang-shi, Jun," she said.

Jun wriggled in her chair, trying to see over the tabletop. "His name is Lee Bailong, and he is the master of Dao Dan Do," she explained. "He's quite big."

"A big jiang-shi, eh?" the old man repeated. "How long have you been a dao-shi, Miss Tao?"

"Since I was very small," Jun said gravely. "Bailong was a present for me on my name-day."

"It has been a long time," the old man said. "And does Lian have a jiang-shi?"

"Lian has his own ghost," Jun explained. "His name is Ma-sun."

"I see," the old man said. He turned to Jun's parents. "Have you considered sending her away to school?" he asked them. "There is a school in England that I think she could benefit from. They cater especially to children of this nature. It's small, and select. I'm sure. . ."

By this time, Jun's short attention span had kicked in. She slipped under the table and crawled out of the dining room, unnoticed.

The nightlight was turned on in her brother's room. One-year-old Lian was standing up in his crib. "Jun!" he cried, reaching for her. Jun yanked down the bar on the crib and picked him up.

"They want me to go away, Lian," she whispered in the baby's ear. "They want me to go away for ever and ever, until I'm really old. As old as Kaa'san."

Lian, if he didn't understand her words, understood his sister's tone. His chin trembled.

"Oh!" Jun exclaimed, hugging him till he squeaked in protest. "I didn't mean to make you cry!" She plunked down on the floor with Lian in her lap. The little boy yawned hugely. He curled up against her and fell asleep.

The next morning they took Jun away.

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**Author's Notes**

Jun is ridiculously precocious.


	3. Six Years Old

Disclaimer: Shaman King belongs to Hiroyuki Takei, not me.

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No one was quite sure what to make of her. She spent most of her time in an obstinate silence, her little arms crossed over her chest and her eyes boring into whoever was stupid enough to make eye contact with the miniscule rebel. Before a week had passed, the whole school was in a state of wary terror over the tiny girl with her giant guardian. As a result, Jun was allowed to run wild through the school, doing whatever she pleased. She learned little at her first year at school.

Then he came.

He was a tall man, though not as tall as her Bailong. His eyes were a deep murky gray blue color, as unreadable as an autumn evening's sky. He'd been warned about the toddling terror who ran the school. But he wasn't to be fooled.

It began the very first day he was teaching, when he called roll. "Kirke, Digory. Pevensie, Lucy. Plummer, Polly. Pole, Jill. Scrubb, Eustace C. Tao, Jun." He looked up. "Which one of you is Jun Tao?" he asked.

The tiny girl in the back row poked her guardian spirit and Bailong obediently raised his hand.

"Can't you raise your own hand, Jun?" he smiled.

"No. And call me Miss Tao," she said arrogantly.

"But I call all of the other students by their first names," he said.

"But I am not like all of the other students," little Jun countered. "I am a dao-shi."

"You may be a dao-shi, Miss Jun, but right now you are a history student like the rest of the class," he said.

Jun crossed her arms, slunk in her seat, and muttered something in Japanese. He turned around. "I would like to see you after class, Miss Jun," he said to her in Japanese. Her pert mouth opened and closed several times in shock, but she remained silent, if not obedient, for the rest of the class.

When the bell in the bell tower tolled, the rest of the class filed out of the room, leaving Jun, Bailong, and the teacher alone. He beckoned to her. "Come here," he said.

Jun glared at him, but made her way to his desk, her guardian ghost right behind her. The man held out one of his cold, pale hands. "Why are you angry, Miss Tao?" he asked.

"I want to go home," she said. "I do not like it here."

"Why not?" he asked her, running his rigid fingers through her long, silky hair.

Jun jerked away. "I do not like that!" she objected. "Bailong, make him stop!"

Bailong moved to attack, but a talisman flew through the air and snapped in his face, stopping him in his tracks. The man smiled. "You cannot write new spells yet, can you?" he asked.

Jun paled. "Not yet," she said. Fear gnawed at her.

The man slapped her across the face, leaving a red mark on her round cheek. "I have been instructed by your parents to teach you compliance," he said in Japanese, his voice tight and clipped. "I will watch you. And you will learn to obey."

Jun fell to her knees, tears rising in her eyes. Another stinging slap shook several teardrops. "Do not cry, like a helpless child. I have been instructed to guard you, so that you may serve the great Shaman King, your brother," he said. "Away from me. But I will take your guardian ghost. From now on, I am your guardian." His nostrils flared. "Answer, child!"

"Hai," she whispered.

"Call me master," he ordered.

"Hai, master," she said.

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For more information about this story, visit the website link in my author profile.

I am currently at work on an original fantasy novel. If you are interested and would like to learn more, please send me a private message (PM) via this website.


	4. Seven Years Old

Disclaimer: Shaman King belongs to Hiroyuki Takei, not me.

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Jun sat on the floor, staring at the patterns of the dressed stone. Her small fingers traced the swirls, over and over again, while Master read over her lessons. At long last he lifted off his glasses and stared at her.

"Too many mistakes," he said. "You fail."

Jun pushed herself off of the floor, tears already burning in her eyes. She knew what this meant. Head bowed, she held out her small hands.

The ruler fell seven quick times, the blade whistling until the sound deadened when it hit flesh.

"Now that your lesson for the day has been completed," Master said, coolly replacing the ruler in his desk, "I have news for you. The future Shaman King will be arriving tomorrow."

Jun looked up. "Lian-chan?" she exclaimed. Her joy was rewarded with another slap on her little hand.

"You will not call him Lian-chan," Master said. "He is Ren-sama. Remember that, Jun."

"Yes, Master," Jun said softly.

"You will prepare the room for Ren-sama. Be ready to serve him at any notice," Master said. He turned back to his work. "You are free to go."

Jun fled.

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For more information about this story, visit the website link in my author profile.

I am currently at work on an original fantasy novel. If you are interested and would like to learn more, please send me a private message (PM) via this website.


	5. Eight Years Old

Thunk. Thunk. Thunk.

Jun started. The noise was coming from Lian's room. She opened the door and peeked inside. "Lian?" she said. "What are you doing?"

The little boy was flopped on his back, kicking the wall. "Bowed!" he whined. "Pway wif me!"

"I can't," she said. "I have to study."

"Pwease?" Lian's eyes were huge as he begged her. "Pwease pwease pwease pway with Lian!"

Jun tried not to look at him. "Oh, all right," she finally caved. She sat down on the floor next to him. "What do you want to play?"

"Pway wif Tigey!" Lian crowed.

Jun picked up the stuffed animal, its fur worn and plush nose slick from constant love. "And what is Tigey doing?" Jun asked. "Is he at the zoo? Is he at school? Is he at the circus?"

Lian's amber eyes widened. "Cihcus?" he repeated. "What that?"

"A circus is like a big party," Jun explained. "There are jugglers and acrobats that perform, and all sorts of good things to eat, and lots of animals."

"Tigies?" Lian breathed.

"Yes, lots of tigers," Jun laughed. "So, is Tigey at the circus?"

"No!" Lian shouted. "Lian go to cihcus!"

Jun quickly sobered. "Lian, we can't go to the circus," she said. "We're not allowed to leave without Master's permission."

Lian pushed himself up and began to toddle rapidly towards the door. "Lian go ask!" he said cheerfully. "Mastuh tell Lian yes!"

"No!" Jun exclaimed. She lunged across the floor, grabbed Lian around his waist, and dragged him back. "We can't. Master won't say yes to Lian, Master will be very angry with Lian!" She brushed a lock of hair out of his eyes. "Master is scary when he is angry. We can't make him mad."

A loud church bell clanged, startling both of them. "I have to go to dinner," Jun said. She kissed his chubby cheek. "I'll be back in just a little bit, okay? Be good. Bailong and Ma-sun will keep an eye on you." Jun summoned Ma-sun from his talisman. "Ma-sun, watch Lian-chan," she commanded.

"I obey," he said sullenly, not happy at the order to babysit a toddler. Jun nodded and left for dinner.

When she returned less than half an hour later, Bailong was right where she had left him. But Ma-sun and Lian were nowhere to be found.

"Lian?" Jun called. "Lian-chan, where are you? I need to put you to bed." She wandered back into his room. "Lian, it doesn't matter where you hide. I'm still going to give you a bath."

She searched through the entire apartment. Lian and Ma-sun were nowhere to be found.

And then, at long last, she found a clue. Lian had left several of his bathtub toys on the floor, arranged in a neat line. A tiger, a lion, and an elephant.

"The circus," Jun whispered.

Author's Note: Whoo, long time, no update!! Sorry!! Well, here's some new stuff, and a twist in the plot.

Oh, and I need some ideas. I'm going to cosplay for an upcoming convention, but I have no idea who I should be!! Any thoughts for a really short, round-faced girl with browny-blondy hair?


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